Quick and Clean
by Xmaster117
Summary: ODST team ALPHA is sent on a routine mission. Follow the Marines through their eyes.
1. Chapter 1  Quick and Clean

**Quick and Clean**

_~~~ A Halo fan-fiction by Xmaster117 ~~~_

- 0620 hours

- UNSC frigate Bold Eagle

- above planet Sigma Octanus IV

- preparing to launch ODST team ALPHA

Not just another job, not just another quick task they have sent us on. Not some "search and destroy" type of mission. An assassination. They have sent me on a assassination mission.

My name is Michael Clarence. I'm an ODST Marine – an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper that is. That's what they call us. I'm twenty two years old. I enlisted in the Marines after my home planet was invaded. Planet Tribute. I was just nineteen back then. They told us we would fight for our planet, for our people. But they didn't tell us that our fight was hopeless. They didn't say that the outcome of the battle was already set. We never had a chance. After that I was soon identified as a talented marksman. I got a special offer. They said I could join the ODST, if I wanted to. Hell yeah I wanted to. I haven't heard much news about my home since I left. It's probably been glassed to hell by the invaders, the Covenant. These aliens, these, monsters… we've been in war with them since before I was born. I always thought we were safe on Tribute. It was a pretty small colony. But nobody is safe from the Covenant. There was no place in the galaxy where I could hide from them. But sometimes, in order to stay safe, you have to walk straight into danger.

- 0640 hours

- SOEIV pod launch initializing

"launching in 30, 29, 28, 27…"

I never liked to be inserted into battle via a drop pod. But that's why they call us the Helljumpers. Nevertheless, being launched on a planet from orbit in a tin-can is rarely fun.

"…5, 4, 3, 2, 1" - WHOOOSH!

That's all you hear. From where we get launched there is no air - no sound, no friction. Maximum velocity. Till you hit the atmosphere. The shaking is almost unbearable, even if you're not being bombarded with AA fire, but once you hit the wall of air, that's when things go out of that little control you had. And I won't even mention the heat.

Feet first into hell…

The landing is never soft. NEVER. I was lucky I landed on a field. Breaking rockets took most of the impact. The other three weren't so lucky. Barney bounced off a cliff and rolled down the hillside into a tree. Carl landed in a swamp. We had some trouble getting him out.

And Kara? She never landed. Not much is left of you after you get hit by 12 000 degree plasma AA fire. Rest in peace Kara. I'll miss you.

- 0700 hours

- planet Sigma Octanus IV, east quarter, section 7 – the Kavi jungle

- ODST team ALPHA proceeding to vantage point

We landed about three clips away from the designated location. The AA defense was larger than command expected it to be. Typical…

Fast march to the rally point. I have some time to rethink every aspect of this mission…

"Primary objective:

a) Assassinate a high ranking Brute officer which carries stolen high value information.

Secondary objective:

a) Retrieve the suitcase in the targets possession, extract the data and destroy the suitcase.

b) If "a" fails, destroy the suitcase without retrieving the data.

Mission notes: The Brute officer was last seen an hour ago, in east quarter, section 5, after his transport Phantom was shot down. The Brute is most likely to travel towards the nearest Covenant outpost, which is located somewhere in section 8 of the east quarter. The vantage point is located on a nearby hill, overseeing the valley, through which leads the most direct route towards the Covenant outpost. After examining the Phantom crash site we evaluated that the Brute is traveling alone and has no means of communication with his allies. You will ambush the Brute while he crosses that valley and you will leave no evidence. Let's keep this quick and clean marines. The intel suitcase and the Brute must not reach the Covenant outpost! If that happens we'll have no chance but to attack the outpost directly. And that could be problematic."

One of the advantages of being a highly trained ODST is that you actually get told what the hell you're doing. At least some of it.

- 0730 hours

- checking status:

- ALPHA ~ Alpha - standing by at vantage point

- ALPHA ~ Bravo, Delta - mission failure, proceeding to extraction point

- ALPHA ~ Charlie - mission failure, subject lost

Once I would complete my mission, Kara and the other two would descend into the valley and extract the data from the suitcase. Since Kara was our extractor, secondary objective "a" failed. Secondary objective "b" was initializing - orbital strike. I never had to call a bombardment on a suitcase before… Now Carl and Barney were going to secure the extraction point and wait me there, while I complete the mission. They left me and my sniper rifle on that hill, in the middle of a jungle, alone… I like it.

The orbital strike was gonna take a few minutes to initialize. That's why I had to… "slow down" the target. To a standstill. I laid there, on a rock. Waiting. Completely still. Overseeing the barren valley bellow me. Sigma Octanus was mostly covered I thick jungle. Not the best place for a sniper. Empty fields like this were rare. We were lucky that the stupid Brute rushed straight towards the outpost. Quite a persistent one, I must say. He's probably been running more than two hours by now. I wonder if he really knew the data he was carrying with him… well, we would kill him anyway. And I wonder which fool gave the dumb Brute such an important task in the first place?

- 0740 hours

- target sighted

Oh my god, look at him. He's basically sprinting straight towards the outpost. He must know we're onto him. Well, it's a big valley, I got time to aim. Step one…

I raised my sniper rifle. Big, heavy, .50 caliber anti-material rifle. They gave me custom ammo for this mission. I didn't get to know what kind. I zoomed in on the Brute and adjusted the optics. He was really fast! I had some trouble keeping my scope on him. I can see he's carrying something. A suitcase. This is definitely my target.

"Piece of cake"

I hold my breath… and exhale.

BOOM!

All I see is a huge, white flash. The blast kicks me hard, even with the rifle being held firmly. I focus my view and look at the Brute. For a second he still runs… until the bullet gets him. Not a pretty sight. It hit him in the chest, the center of mass. He exploded. All I could see was a cloud of vaporized blood and dust raised from the ground… and then something that looked like an arm flew up and dropped a few meters away. That explained what kind of ammo I was using. For some reason I giggled a little. It was quite relieving to see him in pieces. That would usually save me from getting down there and checking if he's dead for sure. That wasn't necessary this time. He wasn't moving and I had a laser designator in my pocket. Step two…

I put the rifle aside. Its barrel was still very hot! And I only fired once. Damn I love this gun. I activated the laser designator. I aimed at where the Brutes body laid. I couldn't really see much of it and I couldn't see the suitcase, if it wasn't blown to pieces already. I aimed at the target, pulled the trigger and held it for a few seconds until the designator started to beep. Target locked. In a minute or two that area will be "lazzord into oblivion."

This must be some damn important data if I need to vaporize it. How could command let something so important fall into enemy hands so easily? I mean, it's basically non-encrypted data saved into the suitcase computer database. What, did the general lose the case at the airport? For God's sake… And I wasn't even told what exactly the information was. Kara was the only one that knew it. But she wouldn't tell my anyway, she was one stubborn bitch.

I started to pack up my stuff… the rifle, the designator. I looked around and behind me, checked the perimeter again. Not a living soul nearby. I sat down on the rock ledge and observed the valley. This planet was quite dull. Tall mountains surrounded me, everything was covered in thick, dark green jungle. It was always cloudy. I could hear a storm far away… or it could be a distant battle. This planet contained an ancient artifact, stored in a museum in the city of Côte d'Azur. And we didn't even know the importance of that artifact until the Covenant showed interest in it. After we retrieved the artifact the city was nuked, sadly. Still, the planet has not been glassed, as it is common for the Covenant to just erase anything of no importance to them. The more important your planet is, the more chances there are that it'll be invaded by them, yet, the more important the planet is, the chances that it will survive are bigger.

I didn't need to wait too long. Soon, a bright flash appeared from the sky, puncturing through the clouds and into the field. A tall column of bright light stood In front of me, and for a second it just stayed there… until the blast came.

BOOOOOOMSHHHH…

I was almost knocked of the ledge. After the initial blast I could still hear a loud noise, like a raging fire devouring a dry forest soaked in gasoline. The flash soon disappeared, leaving behind nothing but scorched soil and molten rock. Just like a glassing, but on a smaller scale. The leftovers of the Brute disappeared together with the case. Mission accomplished.

I picked up my sniper rifle, locked it onto my back and carried on towards the extraction point. Barney and Carl were probably getting anxious.

This was one hell of a day.

- 0800 hours

- ALPHA ~ Alpha - proceeding to extraction point…


	2. Chapter 2 The Other Side

**Quick and Clean**

_**p.2**_

_**The Other Side**_

_~~~ A Halo fan-fiction by Xmaster117 ~~~_

- 0615 hours

- UNSC frigate Bold Eagle

- above planet Sigma Octanus IV

As I sit here, on the briefing, I wonder… Who gives a highly "important" task to a stupid Brute?

My name is Kara Strickland. I'm an ODST Marine, the best of the best, and quite a tough one, believe it or not. I'm twenty four years old. "A girl? Not even twenty? Where are your parents?" I used to hear that all the time when I first joined the Marines. My parents were killed in a glassing. My brother was killed in action not long after that. He was in the Army. So with my home gone, half the people I knew dead, nowhere to go and nothing to do, I thought joining in for the war was the only reasonable thing I could do. But I didn't expect to come so far, I didn't even think I would survive this long. Look at me now. I'm part of an elite fighting group, waging war against an alien empire invading our galaxy… or something like that. I'm a member of group ALPHA, that's me, Mikey - our leader, Carl and Barney. Mike is twenty two, Carl is a year older and Barney is twenty eight. We're all quite young to be in such high positions, but that's what makes us so great. We're not what you'd expect.

"…Let's keep this quick and clean marines. The intel suitcase and the Brute must not reach the Covenant outpost! If that happens we'll have no chance but to attack the outpost directly. And that could be problematic..."

"Any questions?"

Nobody ever asks questions on a briefing, why does he even bother?

"No Sir!" all four of us responded.

"Good. Then we shall proceed immediately. At ease."

We all got up and walked towards the exit.

"Not you Kara" interrupted the commander. "I need to talk with you"

I stopped and turned around. He waited till the guys left and the door closed.

"You are the extractor Kara"

"Yes Sir"

"That means that, after Michael disposes of the Brute, you will extract the data from the suitcase and save it on your data key"

"Yes sir"

Well, Kara, here's the thing. After that you will destroy the suitcase, but its data will be carried onto you. You will protect that data at all costs. If jeopardized, you will destroy the key and, well…"

"Sir?"

"This depends on if you wish me to tell you what kind of data you're carrying. It may help you understand the importance of this operation, but it also means that you will have to consider some… sacrifices"

"What do you mean Sir?"

"Not many people know the informations saved in that case. And all who do have sworn. Sworn to protect that information with their lives, and if necessary, to take away their own life in case of being captured by the enemy"

"Sir, I am trained to sustain all sorts of intero-"

"I cannot make you do this, even if you swear, but once you realize the importance of the data, you will have no second thoughts. Do you want to know? Think twice, there is no turning back"

What kind of informations was he talking about? He sure as hell looked dead serious explaining this.

"Sir, with all the respect, I see no point in this top secret business. I will do everything I can to complete this mission, whether I know what is its purpose or not"

"Hmm… Very well. You are free to go now"

I turned around and went for the exit.

"And don't mention this little talk we had to no one, especially not your three little friends"

I didn't look back. I stepped out of the room and the door shut behind me. I wondered what this information could be that it is so important. But I was happy I didn't need to know. Sometimes, the less you know, the better.

I continued on to the pod launch room. When I got there the guys were already in their pods. I opened the door of mine and jumped in. The door shut and the main computer turned on.

- 0635 hours

- SOEIV pod launch initializing

Before I could even check all the procedures the radio turned on.

"So, Kara… what did the commander say?"

Carl was already messing with me.

"Nothing you need to know"

"Oh come on, it has to be something important, why do you always get to know stuff not even Mike is aware of?"

"I said it was nothing you need to know"

"Well fine. Don't tell me. I'll just sit here in my nice little pod and be completely quiet while you share your dirty little secrets with the rest of the team"

"If it's none of your business its none of your business Carl. You should learn from what happened the last time you sniffed around the Captain's quarters" said Barney. He was like a complete opposite of Carl, yet he was more patient with him than any of us.

"Yeah, don't worry, I won't forget, at least not until the pain goes away that is"

"That Colonel sure as hell kicked your ass" Mike joined in the conversation.

"Nahh, I let him. I didn't want to fight back since I would probably get into more trouble"

"And because you deserved it" added Barney.

"Now hey, just because I broke into his room doesn't mean he had the right to assault me!"

"Uh huh" applied Barney sarcasticly.

"You know what, I'm gonna find that Colonel today and I'm gonna ki-"

I turned off the radio.

"Launching in 30, 29, 28…"

Nobody said anything. For all we knew, this could be the last ride of our life. Insertion via SOEIV drop pods was incredibly dangerous for an individual. You were basically falling on a planet from space, meteor style, and praying that operating the AA guns bellow you were Grunts, not Jackals. I hate Jackals. A single one wiped out my former team. Six guys. They were all my friends. And in three hours I watched them all die, one by one…

Ough, damn, need to focus. Think of the mission. We land, we get to the vantage point, take out the Brute, then I do my job and we get the hell out of there. All of us. Shouldn't take more than four hours, if all goes according to plan. If…

"…5, 4, 3, 2, 1" - WHOOOSH!

We got launched from space. There's absolutely no sound at all when you're falling above atmosphere level. Although most of the ride is rough as hell, the first part is actually really enjoyable.

I knew we reached the atmosphere when I felt the pod get kicked a little. I looked at the travel path stats and the hull condition… everything looked OK. I didn't even have to correct my path. I turned on the radio to check on my mates. Nobody was talking. The shaking soon got worse. I had this weird felling this time, but I just couldn't think of any logical reason for it. After all, I've done this procedure dozens of times alre-BANG!

The next thing I knew is my ears ringing. I opened my eyes. Everything was glowing in bright orange. All the warning lights were flashing, the screen monitor was glowing red and I could see the pod window was broken. Something went wrong. As I regained awareness of the situation I started to hear all kinds of beeping warning sounds…

"…WARNING-WARNING-WARNING…"

"…HULL BREACH-HULL BREACH…"

"…IMPACT IN-FIVE-FOUR-THREE-TWO-…"

I was confused, I didn't know what happened… but all the sounds soon blended into one horrible screaming noise. I closed my eyes and prepared to hit the ground. Then… darkness.

- 0730 hours

- checking status:

- ALPHA ~ Alpha - standing by at vantage point

- ALPHA ~ Bravo, Delta - mission failure, proceeding to extraction point

- ALPHA ~ Charlie - mission failure, subject lost

I opened my eyes. I could see the sky. And I was looking at it through broken glass. And around it I could see all sorts of controls and devices. At first I didn't know what was happening. All I knew was that I felt kinda comfortable… the it all struck my mind at once. I was shoot down. But how? Did I die? No… this is confusing. Where am I now? I need to get out of the pod. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't. It's like I was glued to the chair. I was still in shock, trying to pull myself together. I took of my helmet and put it aside. As I regained strength, I suddenly realized I was lying down and looking up. The pod was flipped sideways. Well, that explains everything. With my new sense of direction I could easily get up and climb out of the wreckage. I opened the pod door and slammed it aside. I pulled myself up and sat on the doorframe. I was out. I looked around me… damn. What a mess. How did I survive this? I jumped down from the pod. As we were falling I must have been hit by something. If it was AA fire it must have been the very first round they fired that hit me, because I didn't hear a thing before that. And AA fire can get pretty loud. What are the odds? As I was hit, I probably spun out of control, so the autopilot kicked in. It probably saved my life. The braking rockets also went out early. I could see a hole in the ground where I landed. I must have bounced up and landed sideways. I was on Sigma Octanus IV, a planet mostly covered in jungle forest . I fell right into a clearing – a flat grass field, about 300 square meters large, surrounded by tall, dark tress. Although these clearings weren't seen quite often, they weren't so rare either. Actually, the planet was kind of riddled with them. They varied from small, 10 square meter grass fields, to huge empty valleys. The valley where we were supposed to ambush the Brute was one of them… of course! The mission! How long have I been out? OK, enough of this shit, time to pull myself together, find my mates and get the hell out of this shithole.

I jumped back into the pod. I grabbed my SMG, safely strapped beside my chair and my helmet. A custom built Recon helmet. It used to belong to a friend of mine. A good friend… Um, yeah, I never liked the standard issue ODST helmet anyway. I climbed out of the wrecked pod and jumped down on the ground. That's when I first felt the pain.

"Ahh, damn it!"

I collapsed on the ground. I looked down at my feet. I saw a big chunk of glass stuck at the side of my right kneepad. Then I noticed some other anomalies on my armor. First of all, my chest plate was riddled with tiny little holes, most of them not deep enough to reach through the armor. Most of them. There were also some pieces of glass and metal stuck in my arms and for the final touch the front of my suit was all burned and scorched. How could have I even imagined that I would survive this without any injuries. I sat up and took of my helmet, again. It wasn't damaged too much, just dirty. I wiped the dust of its visor and noticed my reflection in it. My face wasn't cut anywhere. Good, because I really don't need another scar. I had short, dark bluish, flat hair, reaching down to my dark green eyes. I had a small, barely visible scar left of my chin and a bigger one, stretching from the left side of my forehead down to my eye and then bellow my eye on my cheek. I got both in an explosion. That was the last time I wore an ODST helmet. I checked my knee. The piece of glass was big and sharp, but it didn't cut too deep in my knee. I pulled it out. It hurt. I could stand up… barely. Now my whole body was aching, but I didn't fell any bigger cuts or broken bones, although I could fell many small glass chunks that got through the armor, pinching me as I moved, like needless.

"Could be worse. At least I can move on my own"

I put my helmet back on and took the first step. It wasn't that bad, or maybe I was still numb from the crash. It looked like I was still mentally recovering from the shock. Just when you think you remembered everything and pulled yourself back together something like this happens.

I stepped into the woods. Darkness surrounded me as tall, thick, hundred year old tress stood tall beside me. I continued walking towards the vantage point - figured I should probably first get there and then continue to the extraction area, since it was probably the safest and fastest way to get there. I was about two clicks south from the planned landing location, where my team landed. I checked if I had all the stuff with me – my SMG, my GPS device, the data key, which I still hoped to use, some supplies and reserve ammo. I didn't know what the time was since the clock in the pod computer didn't work and I couldn't even help myself with the sun, since it was hidden behind thick, dark clouds, but I was hoping I wasn't out for too long. Or was I?

I looked back at the clearing. I could see the pod in the middle. As I walked on my view on the clearing faded, until the only thing around me was tall grass and big trees.

"Let's hope I don't run into any Brutes in this creepy jungle, because in this conditions I can't even fight them or outrun them"

- 0740 hours…


End file.
